Andy McDonald Black and White Photos

The Building The Museum of Liverpool, located at the Pier Head on Liverpool's waterfront, opened its doors to the public in 2011. It was established to celebrate and showcase the rich history and cultural significance of Liverpool and its people. The museum is part of the National Museums Liverpool group and replaced the former Museum of Liverpool Life. It aims to reflect the city's global influence, from its industrial past to its vibrant cultural contributions, including its pivotal role in the music scene with bands like The Beatles. The construction of the Museum of Liverpool was a significant architectural and engineering feat. Designed by the Danish architectural firm 3XN and engineered by Buro Happold, the building was constructed by Galliford Try at a cost of £72 million. The museum provides 8,000 square meters of exhibition space, housing over 6,000 objects. Its design and construction were carefully planned to ensure that the museum could host a variety of exhibitions...

  The Building Designed by Hamilton Architects of Belfast, the ferry terminal is situated in a World Heritage Site and centred on Liverpool’s Three Graces, this striking mixed-use project at Pier Head was completed in Liverpool’s year as European City of Culture (2008). An innovative award-winning commercial design created a building divided into four storeys linked by three separate vertical circulation cores, along with a number of entrances and a remotely managed access control system for flexibility. The building has a similar design to the nearby Museum, though the architect of that building was not complimentary of this design. The Photograph I photographed this during a recent return trip to Liverpool.  On my first visit, we arrived at the docks just after lunchtime on an incredibly warm summer day and the whole area was full of visitors. For this trip I didn't arrive until around 5pm on a warm Saturday and it was nearer 7pm by the time I reached this point, so there we...

  The Building Liked by many. Hated by many. The Q-Park, Charles Street, opened in 2008, and the extraordinary steel cladding merited the ‘Cheesegrater’ name. The external envelope, painted green on the inside, was each manufactured from a single sheet of folded aluminium, cut to an angle on two sides, and hung in four different orientations, providing natural ventilation. By day, a varied monochromatic pattern of light and dark is achieved over each of the elevations, with each panel giving a different light reflectance from its surface.  Awards: RIBA National Award 2009, RIBA Regional Award 2009, RIBA White Rose Award 2009, Sheffield Design Awards Citizen's Award for Best Building 2009 The ten-storey car park was designed by architects Allies and Morrison, and constructed by Sheffield-based J.F. Finnegan  as part of the Heart of the City project, which also included the Peace Gardens, Winter Garden and Millennium Gallery. The Photograph I've had a few attempts at this b...

  The Building Opened in 1967, the Grade I listed cathedral was designed by Sir Frederick Gibberd. The Metropolitan Cathedral's exterior is a distinctive architectural marvel. Constructed of concrete and clad in Portland stone, the cathedral's circular plan culminates in a conical tower. This unique form is supported by 16 boomerang-shaped concrete trusses held together by two ring beams. Attached flying buttresses impart the cathedral with its iconic tent-like appearance. Rising from the upper ring beam, a lantern tower filled with stained glass windows dominates, crowned with a series of pinnacles. The Photograph I last visited Liverpool in 2023, for a University Open Day with our eldest. That trip lasted two days but was in the nascent days of my journey into fine art black and white photography.  This latest visit was just for a few hours as I doubled as a taxi for my youngest and three friends to go to a concert at Anfield. However, even though I had just a few hours, I a...

  The Building Opened in 2021, this state of the art building is home to the dynamic science, technology, health, engineering and medicine courses at Canterbury Christ Church University.  Designed by Hamilton Architects, this building is part of the £150m city campus development at Canterbury. The building has a complex façade characterised by vertical brick piers, establishing a strong connection between the building and its rich historic surroundings. The Photograph My passion for black and white fine art architecture photography started with a tour of university open days with my eldest daughter a couple of years ago. We are now touring universities with my other daughter as she looks at prospective courses. Canterbury Christ Church University was first on the list.  The picturesque campus itself is quite compact and mainly made up of buildings from (I think) the 1960s and 1970s. This is probably one of the newest buildings on campus and is mainly brick and glass, with...

The Building Designed by Zaha Hadid Architects and opened in 2011, this purpose built museum sits at the confluence of the River Kelvin and the Clyde. It is a sectional extrusion open at both ends, its outline encapsulating a wave or pleat, flows from the city to waterfront, symbolizing the dynamic relationship between Glasgow and the ship-building, seafaring and industrial legacy of the river Clyde. Clear glass facades allow light to flood through the main exhibition space. The Riverside Museum won the 2013 European Museum of the Year award. The Photograph The regeneration of the docks along the Clyde has resulted in some very impressive architecture, which I have been gradually featuring here on my website. We took the Subway from the city centre to Govan and crossed the Clyde via the newly opened Govan-Partick bridge (which will likely feature here at some point). The part of the museum facing the Clyde was obscured by building work when we visited, so I made sure that we took the t...